Nicoletta Consentino

Venice is a maze of narrow streets and canals. Follow the maze, just once… let the street decide by itself your route, don’t let your route dictate the streets you choose. Learn how to wander, how to roam. Lose your bearings. (Tiziano Scarpa)

Walking around Venice, you can see kids and teenagers playing with balls, bikes and scooters, or climbing old wells and ancient monuments. They play under the watchful eyes of their Mums and grandmas who chat and enjoy the Spring breeze or the last hot sun in Autumn, an idyllic scene set amongst buildings rich in history and works of art hidden in every corners. In Venice there are no dangers, there are no cars centimeters from the pavement. Because of this any Campo (Square) and any Calle (street) can be freely lived, tasted, experienced. This is the City that I love and the one that I want to introduce to people through my Itineraries: authentic, magic and out of time, far away from the crowd that invades the city centre every day without any respect for the very delicate balance which attracts such tourism and remains – almost intact – till nowadays.

My background

Since my graduation in “Art History and Conservation of Cultural Heritage”, in 2002, with a thesis on cultural aspects of the Venetian mainland, I have worked in educational programs of some of the major museums of Venice (Correr, Accademia Galleries, Doge’s Palace, Peggy Guggenheim): I’ve worked with schools, families and groups of children, developing particular tours to explain art and history in an exciting way. I’ve led some special tours focusing on the discovery of the Lagoon and its nature, too, for children and adults. In the same years, as a journalist and an art critic, I have developed a special passion for Contemporary Art, and I have published reviews and small catalogues for several artists. In 2009 I gained the license to work as a professional guide in Venice, so I can now share my knowledge and passion for Art, History, and the wonderful city of Venice, with its fancy palaces and narrow streets, its dark sotoporteghi and canals, its unique history and nature. I love food and wine, too, and I’ve created some itineraries for people that want to discover the traditional cuisine of my city. I speak English, Spanish and Italian.

My advice

To appreciate and admire the real Venice, I always suggest a relaxing walk in some of the residential and authentic areas of the city, after a visit to the magnificent St Mark’s Square, where everything you see forms part of a giant mosaic that depicting the wonderful history of the Serenissima Republic. After this, we will take a wander through the narrow calli (streets) and the winding canals which have been witnesses of the daily Venetian life for Centuries. A brief stop is essential to try a cicchetto (or “fingerfood”), a glass of good wine or a gelato for the kids, in order to experience Venice through taste as well as sight. And how about taking a traghetto (the typical small gondola used by Venetians to cross the Gran Canal), instead of a crowded vaporetto, to come back?

In my job I try to put together this details keeping in mind the interests of those who want to visit a museum or an ancient palace. I want to communicate in deep the beauty of the City of Venice because, in my opinion, to know something means to respect it, and today Venice needs the respect of everybody, in order to survive as the splendid city we see.